No snake nor field of stars is mentioned, though the exact appearance of these flags is not known. Hopkins discusses 'the strip'd jack' and a 'striped flag' as symbols of the Continental Navy. The only written description of the Navy Jack dating from the American Revolutionary war is a January 1776 document titled Signals for the American Fleet by Commodore Esek Hopkins. Rules for flying the jack are similar to the national ensign, except that the jack is only flown at the bow when the ship is anchored, made fast or alongside. ensign, the number of stars on the jack correspond with the number of constituent states the U.S. The blue fielded, white-starred jack is referred to as the ' Union Jack,' not to be confused with the Union Jack of the United Kingdom, which has the same name but a different design. history, the primary jack design has been the blue canton with stars (the 'union') from the U.S. Currently, this ship is USS Blue Ridge.įor most of U.S. warship that flies a different jack than the Union Jack. naval status (that is, having the longest total period in active status) flies the First Navy Jack, and is the only active U.S. The oldest commissioned warship in active U.S.

Navy submarine, and for all warships from 2002 to 2019, when the Navy flew the First Navy Jack for the Global War on Terrorism. Bicentennial, in 2000, when submarines and submarine tenders flew a special jack for the hundredth anniversary of the first commissioned U.S. During the last several decades, the Union Jack has sometimes been temporarily removed from use-such as from 1975 to 1976, when the First Navy Jack was flown for the U.S. The exact historical appearance of this flag is disputed, but it is displayed today by the Navy bearing a rattlesnake and motto. It is widely held that, before the Union Jack, the jack of the United States was the First Navy Jack. Since then, the jack has essentially consisted of the canton of the national flag, with each star added to the national flag being added to the Union Jack also. The Union Jack was adopted on June 14, 1777, alongside the U.S. Navy is the national flag) is flown on the stern. While anchored or moored, the jack is flown on the bow of a ship, and the ensign (which for the U.S. Coast Guard, the Military Sealift Command, the ships of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and other U.S. Navy, is a maritime jack flag flown on the bow of U.S. The jack of the United States, referred to as the Union Jack by the U.S.

nationalityġ777 ( 1777) (initial use of underlying design template)ĥ0 white five-pointed stars defacing a blue field in 9 rows, alternating between 6 and 5 stars.

Union jack black and white ripped flag